“He suffered a minor injury that interrupted his preparations,” Pavia said. “It’s not going to be a long-term problem.”

UFC 118 takes place Aug. 28 at TD Garden in Boston, and Baroni vs. Salter was slated for the un-aired preliminary card.

A replacement search is underway, and Baroni is expected to be added to a fall UFC card. However, Baroni declined to comment on the injury when contacted by MMAjunkie.com earlier today.

Baroni, who made his UFC debut more than nine years ago, was likely
fighting for his life in the organization following a one-sided
unanimous-decision loss to Amir Sadollah at UFC 106. The fight marked
the 34-year-old’s return to the organization after a nearly five-year
absence and followed a streak of three wins in four fights.
Losing his spot on the UFC 118 card is especially tough since it would given him a chance to fight close to home.

Salter, meanwhile, is an NAIA national wrestling champion who also owns a
purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. The 25-year-old went 4-0 in just a
seven-month pro career before he signed with the UFC. In his promotional
debut, he then suffered a hard-fought third-round TKO loss to Gerald
Harris at UFC Fight Night 20. Then, a UFC 113 fight was cut short when
opponent Jason MacDonald suffered a nasty leg injury that left him with a
dislocated ankle and multiple leg fractures. Salter benefits from MacDonald’s bad luck and got the TKO win.

As the UFC 189 tour made its last stop in Dublin, featherweight champ Jose Aldo was met with a torrent of abuse from the Irish fans. It might have been unpleasant, but it might also have been just what he needed.